JAY — The Livermore Falls Town Manager Jim Chaousis asked the Jay School Committee Thursday to move forward with school consolidation regardless of any obstacles that they may meet along the way.

If they do decide to embrace consolidation and come up with a plan that one town rejects, he asked that they continue to try until voters accept it.

Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls rejected consolidation with each other in January 2009. But with declining revenues for both towns and school systems, people are discussing it again.

Chaousis, a resident of Livermore, said he planned to go to the next Regional School Unit 36 Board of Director’s meeting and ask those members to embrace consolidation and try it again, regardless of any stumbling blocks.

That meeting is at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, in the cafeteria at the Livermore Falls Middle School. It was moved from a smaller location to make sure there is enough room.

The next step for consolidation is a topic on the agenda.

Jay School Committee Chairwoman Mary Redmond-Luce said the School Committee voted last fall to try to work something out with RSU 36 or other school districts.

She didn’t consider the first plan the regional planning committee submitted for consolidating Jay and RSU 36 bad, she said. It just didn’t address the student impact, she said.

The planning committee ran out of time to complete the plan including curriculum, athletics, contracts and other factors, before the state mandated deadline to vote on reorganization.

It did have a funding formula based on the number of students enrolled and town valuations.

There are going to be points where you hit roadblocks in the planning process, Chaousis said.

“If things are not going your way, please be a martyr and do what’s best for the community,” Chaousis said.

It’s a great opportunity to show the kids that when you set your mind to it, you can really achieve your goals, said committee member Judy Diaz.

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